Starlink launching from Cape Canaveral, Florida on February 27, 2023
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A rocket carrying 21 new-generation Starlink satellites was launched into orbit yesterday at 1813 EST from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
With this flight on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, the Starlink internet service passed two milestones. This is the first release of the 2nd generation satellite and the total number of project launches exceeded his 4000 satellites.
Starlink is a division of SpaceX founded by Elon Musk. It provides a high-speed Internet connection that radiates from the sky, as opposed to traditional connections that use undersea pipelines and underground fiber optic cables to bring broadband to homes and businesses.
Its service has become especially important for Ukraine, where traditional internet connectivity has been disrupted by Russia.of December 2022the US Federal Communications Commission gave Starlink approval to deploy up to 7,500 new satellites.
The V2 Mini version, which is smaller than Starlink’s original, includes 4 times the capacity To provide users with fast Internet, according to the manufacturer. This is due to more efficient antenna arrays and the use of radio frequencies from 71 to 86 gigahertz called the E-band. According to SpaceXThe company said the new satellite “Represents a step forward in Starlink functionality”.
The new satellite orbits the Earth at an altitude of 600 kilometers or less. This means that it will eventually collapse and re-enter the planet’s atmosphere, limiting the number that can orbit the Earth as debris. Astronomers have previously raised concerns that large constellations of satellites affect our ability to see stars in the night sky.
Low earth orbit has advantages over geostationary satellites, which have been the main provider of satellite internet connectivity until now, said Doug Madory of Kentik, a company that monitors internet performance. Geostationary satellites orbit the Earth at higher altitudes (about 35,800 kilometers). This increases latency, or the amount of time it takes to send and receive information over the Internet. Low-Earth orbit satellites like Starlink will have lower latency by using more satellites closer to the surface, Madry said.
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